Cong declares highest total income at Rs 1,700 crore

The Indian National Congress (INC) topped the chart of political parties in India by declaring the highest total income at Rs 1,687 crore, followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for the period 2010-11 to 2013-14, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

“The total income of national parties, excluding BJP, INC and the Nationalist Congress Party for 2014-15, collectively for five years (2010-11 to 2014-15), from all over India was Rs 4,261 crore. Despite lack of information for 2014-15, the Congress party declared the highest total income from all over India of Rs 1,687 crore, followed by BJP with Rs 1,475 crore,” the non-governmental organisation said. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) collected Rs 552 crore, the Bahujan Samajwadi Party Rs 391 crore and CPI about Rs 9 crore.

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Income for INC from sale of coupons/publication amounted to Rs 1,312 crore (77.7 per cent of total income). Voluntary contributions/donations formed 46.5 per cent (Rs 2040 crore) of the total income of all political parties together, it said.

BJP has received 87.93 per cent income (Rs 1,297 crore) from voluntary contributions while Congress received 10.9 per cent (Rs 184 crore) income from donations. According to its IT returns, 54.39 per cent (Rs 212.78 crore) of the total income of BSP was through voluntary contributions, but the party declared that it never received any amount above Rs 20,000 as donations, the report claimed.

Sources for the data used in the report are audited accounts contribution statements submitted by the political parties to the Income Tax Department and Election Commission of India. ADR recommended that national and regional political parties must provide all information of their finances under RTI.

Besides, ECI should impose rules that no part of the form 24A submitted by political parties providing details of donations above Rs 20,000 should be left blank and full details of donors should be made available for public scrutiny under the Right to Information.

It further recommended that any party which does not submit its donation statement to the ECI on or before the due date, their income should not be tax exempted and defaulting parties should be derecognised.